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ryanderas
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Name: Ryan
Location: Toronto, Canada
Gender: Male
Interests: Sometimes I like to think of myself as a true Renaissance man, with his hand in everything. But I think the reality is that I have a short attention span. I love sports, especially soccer, music, stand-up comedy and being informed. I care a lot about my friends and people close to me.
Expertise: Expertise? That's a strong word. I guess I'm a pretty good cook, and I know how to make people laugh. I study philosophy and history at Tyndale University, where I do well enough to help other people.
Occupation: Student
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message me
Member Since:
4/29/2006
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| Sometimes the life people have to live baffles me. I was reading about the coup in Thailand the other day. If you haven't heard about this, check it out; it will make your head spin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/help/3681938.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5373082.stm
In thirty seconds or less, the deal is that while the Prime Minister is in New York to give an address to the UN, Thai militants have undertaken a bloodless coup and seized control of national media and government. The Constitution has been suspended, martial law declared, and General Sonthi Boonyaratglin has put himself in charge until a de facto Prime Minister is appointed, ostensibly in the next couple weeks.
I was in Haiti while Prime Minister Aristide was being deposed, and that was quite a sight. Thailand seems to be even more of a spectacle, with full military support rather than complete anarchy. The thing that really got me though, was the address of the coup leaders to the citizens. After taking control of the government, the military sent out a public address that went something like: we would like to thank all the citizens for their co-operation and apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.
Holy hell.
Boonyaratglin (I just copied and pasted his name) just apologised for the inconvenience. The inconvenience of overthrowing a regime, of eliminating democracy as people know it, of threatening to uproot the very system many people's lives are built on. Maybe this is a particular language or cultural convention, but how do you get off apologising for something like that? You apologise for the inconvenience when you have to close a store early or fix a bathroom.
There seems to be a common theme in my life right now, underscoring the importance of thinking carefully about things. This is one of those things I think about. Why this? Does it affect me personally? Not that I know of; I don't have any friends in Thailand.
I think it may be a global human issue. I look at the dichotomy between my life and the life of an urban Thai right now. I go to school, I sit around and read, I go to the gym. They walk around, if they leave their homes at all, in a spirit of apprehensiveness at best. I have to worry about getting good marks and getting a degree. They have to worry that every right they've been constitutionally guaranteed is no longer worth the paper it's printed on.
I guess this situation isn't unique, even to Thailand, whose current 15-year run of democracy is their longest run ever. Comparatively, there are even a lot of things going on that I'd consider "worse" (Israel/Lebanon, Guantanamo Bay). So why do I choose to write about Thailand? Maybe it's just the line about apologising that sparked something in me.
I've been talking to a couple friends at school about starting some sort of global awareness kind of club. I'm not necessarily an activist. The closest thing I've been to that resembles a protest is a mosh pit where the band said something about the war in Iraq. What I want to get going is basically a group of people who will get together and examine issues, nationally and internationally, political, religious and ethical, and think, pray and talk about what we ought to do about these things. What is our responsibilty as Christians? As Canadians? As students? As human beings?
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I was in the grocery store the other day, to buy baking
supplies. Normally all my baking takes the form of going to my mom’s house and
taking a bunch of whatever she’s made. I’m more of a stove-top guy, but I was
feeling ambitious, and I decided to make carrot cake. It was delicious, FYI. In
the aisle, I came across a type of brown sugar (it was like turbinado, but a
higher molasses level. I can’t remember what it was called, not like you care.
I’m a food nerd). It was marketed as plantation raw. No joke.
The offensiveness of this may not register with some,
because the plantations aren’t as talked about as the slave trade, Manifest
Destiny or other such intercultural atrocities. My great-grandparents had a
plantation in Indonesia
when my grandmother was born, which is weird for me to think about sometimes. I
was astonished at either the ignorance or the arrogance of Lantic’s marketing
department. The box was complete with a dancing figure of a coloured
complexion.
To put it in perspective, I thought I’d draw some parallels
with some similarly-named goods and services.
I bet this will offend some people; please keep in mind my
acute sense of irony and don’t call me a racist.
Why not a utilities company called Auschwitz Gas? What
better way to commemorate the 20th century’s largest targeted
genocide than rigging up your house with fuel for your stove, heater and shower?
If textiles are more your thing, check out Nigger Jim’s Cotton
Garments. Guaranteed to be hand-picked, you’ll wonder how clothing this great
can be made at such low prices. That’s our secret.
So now you have your plantation
raw sugar, what are you going to do? Use it to sweeten hot drinks of
course. And the best way to make any hot drink is with a Sand Creek Kettle. Sand Creek takes pride in crafting
frontier-quality kettles. Boil water, oil or even tar. Polymer coating ensures
skin won’t get stuck to it. Available in Black.
For the adventurous types, you won’t want to miss Boat
People’s Watercraft. Proudly made in Vietnam,
the entire BPW line of rugged watercrafts can stand up to months of abuse and
neglect, whether on the open seas or floating in a bay off Vancouver
Island.
If any of my friends have graphic design skills, I'd love to have logos for these companies.
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Lately I’ve been doing a bit of reading about post-modernism
and the emergent church. To be honest, I’m finding a lot to like, but a lot is
tough for this small-town Baptist to get his head around. I recently finished
Brian McLaren’s book, A New Kind of Christian. One of the things I liked best
about it was his treatment of the modern evangelical use of “friendship
evangelism”. Much like missionary dating, friendship evangelism is some
people’s idea of reaching out and making friends with someone who is not a
Christian, for the purpose of witnessing to them and getting them “saved”.
McLaren’s point, first of all, is that it’s none of our
business who is going to heaven or hell. I love this point, and I think it
makes a lot of sense. At the same time, it’s a pretty extreme thing for me to
hear. Even though Christians are fond of saying that only God knows the heart,
we seem all too ready to make judgments on people’s character and eternal
destination based on their words or actions.
Words and actions are all we have to make any kind of
judgments on people, and that’s ok. It enables us to make wise decisions in
making relationships. It does not enable or entitle us to make assumptions on
the condition of a person’s soul; that is not man’s office.
Second, the whole concept of “friendship evangelism” is a
repugnant idea. If you want to be someone’s friend, just be a friend. Any
ulterior motives taint a friendship. Your friends become nothing more than
clients, or projects. Do we befriend people just so we can sell them on
Christianity? That’s a rhetorical question. Of course we do. I’ve done it. I
don’t think we should; it’s uncomfortable, and you feel sort of dirty, like a
used car salesman, describing all the benefits of a relationship with Christ.
But hurry, because it’s going fast. Conveniently, the sense of righteousness
you get from trying to save someone’s soul tends to override any misgivings
concerning how you go about it.
Look at it from your “client’s” perspective. Obviously this
guy believes in what he’s selling, you think. But why is he so pushy? Why is he
telling me I’ll be left out if I don’t get in on this RIGHT AWAY? What’s in it
for him? If I get in on this, is he gonna expect me to come out and sell shit
with him? Is this a pyramid scheme? I don’t want this if I’m going to turn into
someone like him. I thought we were friends. Are all Christians like this?
Even though I don’t have a car, I can hypothesize that, when
shopping for one, I know what kind of car I want, no matter how the salesman
comes across. In other words, a bad sales pitch or pushy salesman doesn’t
change the fact that I think the car is good. When we start selling
Christianity, not only do we come across as pushy and arrogant, but by treating
people as projects we besmirch the very thing we’re trying to convert them to.
The relationship is a sham. We hurt our friends and misrepresent the mission of
Christ and His Church.
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| For awhile I've been wanting to get another tattoo, and with summer affording me the chance to bare my arms every now and then, I thought it would be an opportune time. Plus I now work and have money.
Yesterday I went to a tattoo shop that had been recommended to me by a couple people. I was greeted by a clean, friendly atmosphere. So far so good. I was welcomed cordially by the woman behind the counter. Score two. I told her that I had an idea for a tattoo in my head, and would like the help of an artist to first put it on paper, and then onto my skin. This was met with a blank stare. Ouch. Points lost. After thinking for a moment, the woman told me I would have to come back later with a reference piece (picture) similar to what I wanted. This picture, along with a $100 non-refundable deposit, would be given to an artist, who in one month's time would produce a piece based on the image I had given them. After that, I would be invited back to the shop to review the work. If I was satisfied, I could then make an appointment to get tattooed. If not, the artist would redraw it for another $100 (and probably another month). I was a little confused. Was my request unique or unusual? This is a tattoo shop right? She didn't even ask what I wanted. More points off.
Last time I got tattooed, I was able to sit down with the artist and describe what I wanted. She made a sketch according to my description, added some detail, and a few hours later I was a marked man, so to speak. I understand art takes care, and taking care takes time, but why the mandatory one-month waiting period? It's not like they need to do a police check or bring in an expert from Switzerland.
So thanks, tattoo shop, for showing us that the sweeping arm of bureaucracy has left no one behind. Or maybe it has. I'll try and find it. One month month waiting lists can go suck an egg.
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There’s nothing like complete exhaustion
The atrophy of complete defeat
The feeling of the world upon my shoulders
Realizing I am incomplete
-- Dennis Bayne - “Recall”
I had a bit of a weird experience
the other day. I was hanging out with a friend of mine who happens to be of the
fairer sex. We’ve been friends for awhile, and just friends. Seriously. Several
months ago she broke up with her boyfriend of many years. It was pretty
life-changing for her, and I was there to try and cheer her up as she went
through this high-stress experience. Things seemed to go well; we spent quite a
bit of time together and got to know each other better. I’m very thankful for the
time we spend together and the relationship we have. This isn’t a romantic
thing. You don’t have to believe me; sometimes I don’t believe me.
She’s been spending a lot of time
with her ex recently, and all signs point to the two of them getting back
together. I can’t say I’m all too surprised. The surprise to me was that,
although I truly want her to be happy, I also felt strong feelings of jealousy.
Some of you may know that, as logical and structured as I like to be, I’m also
one of the most emotionally vulnerable people I know. When I heard that she had
been spending so much time with him, it upset me, and I started to see her a
little differently. Immediately I thought “there’s no way I can get involved
with her. Why do I suddenly have this stupid crush?”
I spent a couple restless nights
playing out the situation in my head, and came across the idea that I don’t
actually want to date this girl; I think my problem is that I’m afraid of being
irrelevant. I had come to see myself as the one she could trust and confide in.
Selfishly, I’m afraid of her finding a deeper, more meaningful relationship
with someone else, rendering me unnecessary. I would rather have her share her
hardships with me than find happiness and fulfillment with somebody who’s not
me. Of course, I want her to be happy with me, but I guess I feel insufficient,
and that’s a terrifying feeling.
For whatever reason, something about meaning
the world to someone appeals to me. Too bad, because I’ve been in that position
before and it’s ridiculously demanding. Maybe my mentality is something like if
he’s in, I’m out. Is this my overactive mind, a messiah complex, a desperate
reaction to hold on to something that may not exist like I imagine it to, like
an errant phantasm?
Far
removed from my emotions, my soul, my heart and my God remind me that
indeed I am, as my fears suspect, insufficient, weak and impoverished.
I'm also reminded that this is nothing to despair of. I know that I can
never be everything to anyone, nor should I desire to be. I am loved,
cared for and known by the God who beckons me to draw near to Him, who
cautions me against buying into the hollow and deceptive philosophies
of the age, and who has granted to me a place in His eternal Reality.
Still I envy, and hope that truth will rebuke my jealousy and pride.
So pray for me, this deluded,
arrogant, selfish dick.
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